Playing well-known historical figures and fictional characters, in a manner that honors the truth of who they are while making them your own, is no easy feat. Yet Cynthia Erivo has built a career doing just that, and to widespread critical acclaim.
The British actress’s Broadway debut—as Celie in the musical revival of The Color Purple, from 2015 to 2017— earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and an Emmy for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program. Two years later, Erivo’s turn as Harriet Tubman, in the 2019 Kasi Lemmons–directed biopic Harriet, led to her first Academy Award nomination. Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy nods followed for her portrayal of the Queen of Soul in the 2021 National Geographic series Genius: Aretha Franklin. And now her take on Elphaba, in Jon M. Chu’s feature adaptation of Wicked, has brought another Oscar nom for Best Actress—making Erivo the second Black actress, after Viola Davis, to be nominated for the award multiple times.
“I tend to pick roles that give me the chance to get at the center of who the characters are,” says Erivo, 38. “I think when you look at a character like Elphaba, there might be the temptation to just play her as the villain, but I always look for the layers.” Erivo admits she didn’t have to look far to discover the depth of this young woman, whose green skin makes her an outcast among her peers and even in her family; many of Elphaba’s struggles have been Erivo’s own. “With Elphaba, it’s the knowing what it feels like to be different,” she explains. “It’s knowing what it feels like to be in a room full of people who don’t necessarily want you there. It’s knowing what it feels like to feel ashamed, what it feels like to be the only one. It’s that strange father-daughter relationship that she has. There are a number of things that I connected with, on a personal level. That gave me the opportunity to both work through those things and share.”
It’s Erivo’s ownership of Elphaba—in her physical appearance, and in advocating for what Elphaba represents in every sit-down interview and red-carpet sound bite—that has broadened the character’s appeal. Erivo has connected Elphaba to the audience that most relates to her experience as an outsider, in a society with a frayed moral compass.
“The thing I hope that Black women and Black girls take away from this character is: You don’t necessarily have to wait for someone to see who you are to be celebrated,” says Erivo. “You can step into yourself and into what you think might be your destiny. You can be all of who you are—and take the time to discover what that is. I know that when we step into a room, it can be really difficult, because you’re navigating preconceived notions of who you are and what you can do. And the only way you can combat that is just by being everything you are, over and over again. It’s practice and repetition. If you keep showing up, if you keep being who you are, eventually no one can really question it.”
That’s advice that Erivo has been putting into practice herself since she entered the public eye. “I’ve been taking many little risks along the way,” she says. “Just choosing to be completely myself. Like cutting my hair recently. I cut it for the role and then just never stopped cutting it, because I felt like it was different to what we see as beautiful. I know it seems like a small thing—but letting my nails be long, and putting that part of a culture that I understand and know into the mainstream, and sharing who I am as a queer person—all of those things, for me, were risks. I took them one step at a time, but as a whole they’re a big risk to just be. I think it’s allowed me to be as creative as I possibly can, because I’m not really hiding anything. I’m just myself.”
“If you keep showing up, if you keep being who you are, eventually no one can really question it.”
—Cynthia Erivo
Erivo credits her inner circle for her ability to be this genuine self—even as the list of accolades attached to her name grows. “I have good people around me,” she says. “I feel like that is an actual practice, making sure you have good people around who will keep you grounded.”
Conversation is swirling around the likelihood of Erivo becoming an EGOT winner; she’s just an Oscar away from the designation, which only three other Black women—Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Hudson and Viola Davis—have obtained. But Erivo isn’t motivated by the prospect. “Awards are beautiful, happy cherries on top of a really full-working system,” she says. “I love my work, and I’m grateful to be able to be the recipient of those kinds of awards, but that’s not why I do what I do. Do they help? Are they wonderful? Yes, but they’re not the driving force.” As for the future: “When I think about the next milestone, I’m not entirely sure what it will be,” she admits. “I hope I know it when I get there.”
CREDITS:
Photographed by Kanya Iwana
Styled by Jason Bolden
Makeup: Joanna Simkin using Danessa Myricks Beauty at The Wall Group
Set Design: Priscilla Lee
Tailor: Shirlee Idzakovich
Photography Assistants: Kenny Castro & Jeremy Eric Sinclair
Digital Technician: Aron Norman
Fashion Assistant: John Mumblo
Set Assistant: Adam Quinn
Production by The Morrison Group
Production Assistants: Jordan Mack & Ernie Torres
Post Production: Samantha Nandez
Location: CineDept